Finance & Administration Report - CAO UPDATE

CAO UPDATE

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated November 3, 2021 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

To provide Council with information from the Office of the CAO regarding material events and happenings at Town Hall.

BACKGROUND:

An Administrator’s report for the Committee of the Whole meeting to apprise Council of the highlights of significant activities of the Town.

INFORMATION:

Administration:

Council and Committee of the Whole meetings are now open for in-person attendance with a maximum capacity for ten members of the public. Those interested in attending are asked to preregister and masks are to be worn while in Town Hall.

The front counter and telephones have been busy with questions and payments from the sewer utility invoices. Both business licence and secondary suite renewals will be mailed soon which will continue to keep the front counter active.

The Great British Columbia ShakeOut took place on October 21, 2021 with Town Hall staff participating in an associated Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Operations Centre refresher session via Microsoft Teams as well as the “drop, cover and hold” drill at their desks.

Budget preparations and project summaries are underway for the 2022 budget deliberations.

In honour of Archives’ volunteer, Bill Stavdal’s generosity and commitment to the Archives, a display of his “View Royal - Then and Now” Goldstream Gazette articles is now being exhibited in the Town Hall foyer. Mr. Stavdal has been generous with his time and skills, photographing and researching the Town, then donating the images and information to the Archives.

On the Records front, various projects with the departments continue as efforts to cull and destroy eligible physical records allows us to continue storing on-site and follow best records management practices.

Finance:

Sewer utility invoices were sent to residents in early October and are due November 30, 2021. A total of 488 customers, or 20%, received their bill electronically (2020 - 20%), representing a savings in both printing and mailing costs.

Further collaborative work with all departments towards an updated Information Technology Strategic Plan continued in October, with the draft plan submitted for consideration to the Committee of the Whole November 9, 2021.

Finance staff continue working with each department on the 2022-2026 financial plan in preparation for the February 2022 budget workshops, as well as preparing for the interim audit by MNP LLP scheduled for early December.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Town of View Royal has received the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. This year's award is presented to the Finance Department for the 2021-2025 Financial Plan. The award represents a significant achievement and reflects the commitment of the Town and staff to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting. To receive the award, the Town’s budget documents were satisfactorily evaluated against standard budget criteria for effective budget presentation.

Development Services:

The Community Climate Action Strategy is 3/4 of the way through the initial public engagement segment. Two online workshops were held in October, where the project consultants facilitated interactive discussions with interested members of the public to find out the participants’ vision for a low carbon future. A community survey was also held, with the second, final survey to be conducted in November. The information gathered from the workshops and surveys will be used to help prepare the strategy as shown in this workplan graphic:

The Official Community Plan project is also proceeding with online workshops scheduled between November 8 and 10. Council’s assistance in sharing invitations to community members to participate in the process is appreciated. The first community survey for the OCP project was launched recently. Staff will be reporting out on community engagement and what has been heard to date at the December Committee of the Whole meeting.

Engineering:

Preliminary budget planning for the 2022-2026 Financial Plan occurred in October.

In preparing for 2022, the View Royal Park Community Garden Society engaged plot-holders at the View Royal Community Garden to turn the compost, complete chipping, as well as weed and cover pollinator garden beds for the winter.

(compost pile before (left) and after (right) chipping at View Royal Community Garden)

The Helmcken Bay Pump Station (PS) upgrade design is approximately 85% complete, with the BC Hydro contribution being the main outstanding component. Design of the sewer gravity main upgrade from Packers PS to View Royal PS will carry into 2022. This delay allows for completion of an in-depth capacity study for this section of sewer main in conjunction with the BC Transit handyDart development on Burnside Road West. The Town is working on a confined space entry and bypass plan for the View Royal PS in preparation for replacement of the main discharge pipe in the wet well. As well, work has begun to expose a pair of sewer manholes on Island Highway opposite the Craigflower PS.

The picture above shows the sewer manhole opposite the Craigflower PS that was buried under approximately eight feet of soil. It is now accessible for pipe flushing and CCTV work. Additional work around this manhole to clean up the area and make it safe for ongoing maintenance will commence shortly.

The pictures below show the sewer manhole located underneath the pedestrian overpass on the south side of the Island Highway. To improve access and safety for workers, the Town built a short rockwall around the manhole to create a level surface. The area around the manhole will be backfilled.

(sewer manhole underneath pedestrian overpass on Island Highway)

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated November 3, 2021 from the Chief Administrative Officer titled “CAO Update” be received for information.

SUBMITTED BY: K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer